Spanish constitutional court cancels Catalonia’s independence declaration

Spain’s Constitutional Court has overturned Catalonia’s declaration of independence, announced by the region’s government on Friday, the court spokeswoman said.

The decision came after the Supreme Court had already agreed to hear rebellion charges against Catalonia’s ousted leadership. A total of six people, including the former regional president Carles Puigdemont, face possible charges of rebellion, sedition and embezzlement.

However , the Catalan President Carles Puigdemont was giving a speech in Brussels, his first since Madrid filed charges against him and he fled to Belgium. Earlier the Spanish attorney general filed a lawsuit against the secessionist leaders over their push for independence.

Speaking to journalists in advance of his speech, Puigdemont said: “I’m not here to ask for political asylum.” The former leader said that he and his government were denouncing “the polarization of the Spanish justice system” and wanted to “show the world the serious democratic deficit that exists in the Spanish state.”

The Catalan parliament declared independence from Spain following a secret vote on October 27, which was boycotted by MPs supporting the union with Spain. In response, the Spanish Senate triggered Article 155, also known as the constitution’s ‘nuclear option,’ stripping the Catalan government of power. New elections will be held in the region on December 21, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said.  Puigdemont slammed Madrid for its“premediated aggression” and called for peaceful “democratic opposition.”